Blinded by jealousy and convinced his wife betrayed their vows, the Earl of Kirkcaldy sows the seeds of his family's turmoil the night she gives birth to twin sons. Banishing the countess, the earl also separates the twins and decrees that he and his wife will each raise a son, setting the stage for the bitter rivalry to come nearly three decades later.
A young hellion, Matalia McTaver is the eldest daughter of Ronin, Laird of the Clan McTaver, and Kalial, princess of a mystical forest kingdom. Pressured to marry by her parents, who worry about her wild ways, Matalia refuses to settle down but yearns for a taste of the intimacy between men and women. So when she finds a brawny, handsome stranger trussed up in the woods near her home, Matalia figures she's found the perfect partner. Unfortunately, her captive is no tame shepherd to be seduced, but a warrior on a mission of his own.
Having spent the last fifteen years amassing a fortune and gaining a fierce reputation in battle, Brogan O'Bannon knows the time has finally come to return to Kirkcaldy and be declared his father's heir. Unfortunately, two things stand in his way. The first is Xanthier, Brogan's identical twin. Raised by their father, Xanthier is his rival and nemesis, but forever connected to Brogan in that special way only twins know. The other problem is the beautiful young woman who rescues him from Xanthier's men only to capture him for use as a stud. Try as he might to resist her allure, Brogan and Matalia give in to desire only to be caught by her father. Bedded then wedded, this fiery pair must now find a way to deal with each other as they journey to Kirkcaldy for the ultimate confrontation with Brogan's father and brother.
Back in the 1980's historical romances had a certain tone and texture. They were larger than life, gritty dramas filled with passionate characters who bled, cried, and did things that made readers simultaneously cringe and shiver. Those stories disappeared in the next decade as historicals became kinder, gentler, and more politically correct. Well, guess what? A new age has dawned and everything old is new again, and Sasha Lord's IN A WILD WOOD leads the pack. The story swirls with classic elements like betrayal, rivalry, and regret, topped off with a healthy dose of good, old-fashioned lust. Brogan is very much a man of his time, while Matalia starts off as a young, spoiled girl who matures into a force to be reckoned with. Add in the varied cast of secondary characters and the result is a tale which is intense, believable, and electrifying.
The second in the Wild series (the first story, UNDER A WILD SKY, is Ronin and Kalial's story), IN A WILD WOOD can be read apart. But do you really want to miss the rest of this unique family? I highly recommend this book and series for a thrilling romance and an unforgettable adventure.
TheSchemer
